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Exceptional rains in drought-struck northern Italy kill 8, cancel Formula One Grand Prix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

ROME (AP) — Exceptional rains Wednesday in a drought-struck region of northern Italy swelled rivers over their banks, killing at least eight people, forcing the evacuation of thousands and prompting officials to warn that Italy needs a national plan to combat climate change-induced flooding.The heavy rains also forced Formula One to cancel this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to not overtax emergency crews that were already stretched thin in responding to the rivers of mud that have torn through the region, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and homes.Days of rainstorms stretched across a broad swath of northern Italy and the Balkans, where “apocalyptic” floods, landslides and evacuations were also reported in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.The vice president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, said eight people were killed and others unaccounted for in flooding that forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci called for a new natio...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts higher as debt talks continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting higher, still stuck in the tight range it’s been in for a month and a half. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% early Wednesday, on pace for a seventh straight weekly move of less than 1%. That would be its longest such streak since 2018. The Dow was up 0.5% and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%. Markets got some lift from hopes that the U.S. government may avoid a first-ever default on its debt. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Democrats and Republicans could reach a deal by the end of the week, though the two sides remain far apart. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street bounced back modestly early Wednesday with more big retailers reporting sales and profit pointing to an American consumer that’s reigning in spending under the weight of ongoing inflation and anxiety about a possible recession.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% and the S&P 500 ticked up 0.3%. Target shares bounced around early ...

Chief: Man shot by police ran at ‘full sprint’ toward officer while holding sword over head

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

OXFORD, Mass. (AP) — A man shot by police in Massachusetts last weekend was holding a sword over his head and running at an officer at a “full sprint,” police said.The 23-year-old man faces attempted murder and other charges in connection with the encounter in Oxford at about 6 a.m. Sunday, police Chief Anthony Saad said in a statement Tuesday.The officer was in a marked cruiser but was not responding to a call when the suspect, on foot, abruptly entered the roadway and blocked the vehicle, Saad said.The suspect, an Oxford resident, advanced on the cruiser while swinging the sword, so the officer put his vehicle into reverse “to create distance between him and the defendant,” Saad said.When the officer could not back up any farther due to traffic, he stepped out of the cruiser and ordered the suspect to drop the sword.The suspect “then began a full sprint towards the officer with the sword over his head,” the statement said. The officer again ordered the suspect to stop ...

Clarification: Ford-Pickup Recall story

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — In a story published May 17, 2023, The Associated Press reported that Ford was recalling 310,000 trucks in the U.S. because the driver’s front air bag may not inflate in a crash. The NHTSA inadvertently reposted the recall on its site Wednesday, but it was originally announced on May 13, 2022. The trucks have been recalled and remain subject to that recall, but the AP recommends that editors not include the story in headlines packages. The Associated Press

Naomi Klein has new, more personal book out in September, ‘Doppelganger’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Activist and best-selling author Naomi Klein has a book coming out in September that will combine personal reflections with political reporting and cultural commentary.Farrar, Straus & Giroux announced Wednesday that in “Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World,” Klein will explore a time rife with “confusion across political, technological, environmental and medical spheres.”One point of confusion touched on in the book: Online commentators who mistake Klein for the author Naomi Wolf, leading Klein to tweet “please keep your Naomis straight” in 2020.Klein said in a statement Wednesday that the book was a “departure” for her, “more personal, more experimental” and will explore “what it feels like to watch one’s identity slip away in the digital ether.”“Mostly, it’s an attempt to grapple with the wildness of right now — with conspiracy cultures surging and strange left-right alliances emerging and nobody seeming to be quite what they seem,” she...

5 tips to tackle a home remodel in an uncertain economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

Spring is kickoff season for many kitchen remodels, bathroom updates and deck repairs, but recent economic turmoil may have homeowners questioning their home improvement plans.Spending on home renovations is expected to slow this year because of factors such as declining home sales and values, rising interest rates , continuing inflation and rumblings of a coming recession, says Abbe Will, senior research associate with Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.As economic growth slows, planning and prioritizing will be key to remodeling confidently. Here are five tips to help you remodel in an uncertain economy.1. START WITH AN EMERGENCY FUNDEven when the economy is doing well, it’s ideal to have an emergency fund before starting a remodel, says Eric Maldonado, a certified financial planner based in San Luis Obispo, California.“What you’re trying to avoid is starting with nothing saved, taking out debt to afford these things and not really providing yourself with a smar...

4 Buffalo Grove High School students killed in multi-vehicle crash in Wheeling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

WHEELING, Ill. — Four students at Buffalo Grove High School were killed in a three-vehicle crash in Wheeling.According to police, the crash happened around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Dundee and Schoenbeck roads.Four teens, between the ages of 16 and 18, were killed. High School District 214 has confirmed the teens were students at Buffalo Grove High School. Their identities have not yet been released.One student remains hospitalized, according to the school district.Police said speed and a disregard for traffic signals seem to be the primary factors of the crash. Police investigate after reported shooting on I-290; all lanes closed at Central The school district released the following statement:Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these students during this time of tragedy. We also offer condolences to all Buffalo Grove students, families and staff members. Names of the students have not been announced publicly out of respect for grieving fa...

University of Chicago issues alert after 2 robberies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

CHICAGO — The University of Chicago issued an alert after two robberies Tuesday night.At around 10:50 p.m., the university said a person was walking to an off-campus residence when they were confronted by two unknown suspects.The victim's property was stolen before the pair fled into a black mini-van.Around 10 minutes later at around 11 p.m., two people were walking on Harper, between 58th and 59th Street, when two unknown suspects, both armed with handguns, exited a white newer model van. Woman shot in South Side apartment; critical The victims were robbed of property at gunpoint, police said.No one is in custody.

Google will delete your account if you haven't logged in for 2 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

Google has announced plans to begin deleting personal accounts and all of their content en masse to reduce risk for its more active users.In a Tuesday announcement the company stated they are updating their inactive account policies and plan to begin deleting accounts which have not been used or signed into for at least two years. They state inactive accounts are more likely to be compromised leading to identity theft and/or unwanted content like spam. Most expensive home for sale in the Midwest found in Indiana The mass deletion won't happen immediately. In the policy update they state, "We are going to roll this out slowly and carefully, with plenty of notice," going on to say the earliest accounts will be deleted is December 2023. They plan to take a phased approach by starting with accounts which were created and then never used again. The update also states multiple notifications will be sent over the months leading up to deletion.Don't want that inactive account cleared from...

After no lotto luck, the Bulls are on the outside looking in at NBA Draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:20 GMT

CHICAGO — Sitting in a ballroom at McCormick Place on Tuesday night, the front office of the Bulls was looking for a little bit of lottery luck.But it was not going to come for Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley.The moment Marc Eversley & Artūras Karnišovas found out the #Bulls would not keep their first round pick at the #NBADraftLottery pic.twitter.com/LCf0u8iHUM— GNSportsTV (@GNSportsTV) May 17, 2023WGN cameras captured a little frustration from the Bulls' general manager when NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum pulled a card with a Magic logo on the envelope when the 11th pick came up. That meant that the Bulls didn't move up into the Top 4, which would have allowed them to keep the selection. But as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade in March 2021, that pick now goes to Orlando, leaving the team out of the first round.So how many picks do the Bulls now have for the 2023 NBA Draft on June 22? Well, that's another reason that the front office is a little frustrated - the...